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Florian
The Florians, as they were known by the Forerunners, taxonomically referred to as [[wikipedia:Homo floresiensis|'Homo ''floresiensis]], and called '''Cha''manune'' by contemporary humans themselves, are a now-extinct species of human native to Earth,Halo: Cryptum, Page 23 later specific to the island of Flores in Indonesia, surviving up until around 13,000 BCE and possibly as recently as 10,000 BCE, living contemporaneously with "modern" humans, Homo sapiens.[[Wikipedia:Homo floresiensis|''Homo floresiensis'' on Wikipedia]] Before the activation of the Halo Array, Florians had extensive contact with other human species, and one, Morning Riser, served as a guide to a young Forerunner looking for Precursor artifacts. The Librarian had imprinted Riser's ancestors with a geas that made the subsequent generations seek a way to bypass the defenses around the Didact's Cryptum in the Djamonkin Crater.Halo: Cryptum, Page 55 They had some form of complex civilization, due to the fact that they had developed past primitive tribal and even Chiefdom-based society, proven in the fact that they constructed the city-state of Marontik. Whether or not the civilization itself was embryonic or advanced is unknown. Overview They possessed more "primitive" characteristics than modern humans, including a reduced mandible, lacking a chin,Halo: Cryptum, Page 38 and a smaller cranial capacity and proportionally smaller brain,Halo: Cryptum, Page 25 though were still intelligent. Their most outstanding feature was their small stature, standing at a little over a meter tall. Florians were remarkably long-lived; Riser was around 200 years old when he met Bornstellar, and he was still "just a youngster" according to Chakas . The Didact described the Florians as "peaceful, yet full of cleverness" and asked them to be preserved following the Human-Forerunner wars. After the wars, Florians were favored by the Forerunners as a servant species, often amusing and instructing their young.Halo: Cryptum, Pages 82, 86 Family and ancestry were noted to be important in Florian culture. It was said that unlike Ha''manune'', Florians "lived with ancestors in their heads," implying they possessed a special connection to their ancestors, possibly a genetic memory of some kind.Halo: Cryptum, Page 109 Besides regular speech, Florians communicated in a variety of ways, including "stare-whistle" and "click-song"; clicking noises made with their tongue and cheeks.Halo: Cryptum, Page 35 Riser later revealed that the Florians can communicate with some non-human anthropoids including Gigantopithecus, known to the ancient humans as both the sha''kyanunsho'' and the shadow-ape. The Florian naming system was notably complex, with an individual having a family name, a personal name, and a considerably longer "long name"; for example, Riser's family name was "Day-Chaser", his personal name "Morning Riser", and his long name "Day-Chaser Makes Paths Long-stretch Morning Riser". However, they were typically only called by their first name and rarely revealed their full names to outsiders.Halo: Cryptum, Page 33 List of appearances *''Halo: Cryptum'' *''Halo: Primordium'' Trivia *Hawaiian legends and stories frequently reference a race of mythical small people known as Menehune, who were renowned for building great stone walls and other constructs. This is reflected in Riser's obsession with walls and building walls. Bornstellar also references that the last of the Chamanune died out on an "isolated archipelago, far from the rest of the world," most likely Hawaii. Sources Category:Human Category:Halo: Cryptum